Life is a tragedy full of joy

Painful memories

Shadows danced on the wall, cast by the bright, orange flames burning brightly in the large, open grate. The wooden logs emitted sounds of both crackling and popping as they slowly melted away into ashes. Oak panelling lined the walls as bookcases stood erect, almost over spilling with books, both old and new. A plush, fluffy rug stretched across the dark, wooden flooring in the centre of the room, adding character and style. Remus and Tonks were in their small library, located in one of the back rooms of their small yet cosy cottage. Remus was sitting at one end of the soft, fabricated sofa which was a rich, velvety, red, as Tonks lay down at the other end, her feet resting upon Remus's lap.

Andromeda had returned home, now that Remus was back. Tonks really missed her, but she couldn't help but be thankful that she and Remus were now alone so they could spend some time together. Since they had got married, they hadn't been able to properly settle down due to him leaving her for a short out of fear, then was away underground afterwards. Not to mention that Tonks had also been fired from the Auror office due to her marriage to Remus, but now they found they had all the time in the world. Remus felt terrible for losing Tonks her job, but Tonks promised him that she would rather spend her life as Mrs Lupin where she could be a loving wife, than as Miss Tonks who was just an Auror, lonely without a family to call her own.

Remus, as usual, was reading a book, however, she noticed it wasn't one of his usual thick, leather-bound books but was actually a children's book: The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Since Hermione had obtained this book from Dumbledore's will, it had reminded Remus of it, as his mother had read it to him when he was a small child after being introduced to it by her wizard husband. Due to this, Remus had decided to go and buy it so he could read it to his own son or daughter once they were old enough.

"You're reading a children's book?" Tonks grinned.

Remus stopped reading and looked up, peering over at her. He smiled, "It seems that I am, I thought we could read it to our child once they are old enough. It was a book my mother read to me when I myself was a child."

Tonks's heart melted at the thought. How was she so lucky to find someone who was so sweet and thoughtful?

"That's such a beautiful idea, Remus."

"I do try," Remus chuckled.

There was a moment's silence. Remus mentioning his childhood was something he rarely did, in fact, Tonks knew virtually nothing about it.

"It was Fenir Greyback wasn't it?" Tonks questioned quietly.

Remus sighed and closed his book. He had been waiting for this moment for he knew that it was coming. He decided to take the easy route and simply answered, "Yes," not deciding to go any further. Talking about his childhood was painful and he tried to avoid the topic as much as he could. However, when Tonks didn't respond and only stared sadly at him he decided to continue, feeling he trusted Tonks enough to open up to her. She was his wife and the mother of his child after all.

"As you know I was born on March 10th 1960 to Hope and Lyall Lupin. I loved my mother dearly and she was very special to me, but my relationship with my dad became strained as I grew older."

Tonks pulled herself up into a more comfortable position on the sofa, now fully aware that Remus was about to finally tell her about his childhood after so many years of silence.

"My father, Lyall Lupin, was a world-renowned expert on Non-human Spirituous Apparitions, such as boggarts and poltergeists. One time, he went on an expedition to a remote forest located in Wales in order to investigate reports of a very violent and vicious boggart."

Remus shifted on the sofa to get more comfortable before continuing, "Whilst in the forest he heard a woman let out an ear-splitting scream, so he rushed to her aid and banished the boggart."

"Can you guess who the woman was?"

"Your mother?" Tonks smiled.

"Indeed," Remus nodded, "My mother, Hope Howell, was a muggle who worked for an insurance company in Cardiff. Once my father had got rid of the boggart he escorted her home so he could ensure her safety."

"That was sweet of him" Tonks commented.

Remus just smiled, "After their encounter in the forest they continued to see each other and they soon found themselves in love. Three months following the incident in the forest my father admitted to my mother that the boggart never actually posed any real threat to her, but this didn't diminish any of the fondness she had for him."

"Much like how your 'too old, too poor, to dangerous' excuse didn't lessen the love I felt for you" Tonks found herself interrupting but smiling nonetheless.

Remus stared at her for a second, unimpressed at the interruption, but then found himself smirking at her, "So you've proved. Took me long enough to see it."

"Better late than never," Tonks remarked causing them to chuckle.

"Anyway, not longer after, my father plucked up the courage to propose to her, and was over the moon when she said yes. They married in early 1959 and a year later they had me."

Remus paused and placed his hand on Tonks's expanding bump, thinking about how he and Tonks were about to become parents themselves.

"By the mid-1960's, You-Know-Who's power was beginning to grow, and his followers began recruiting a wide variety of Dark creatures to further his cause. So they could gain a better understanding of this threat, the Ministry of Magic wanted an expert on Dark creatures and so asked my father to join the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures which he happily accepted."

Remus rubbed his hand back and forth over her bump, as though this soothed him whilst talking about his parent's pasts.

"One day in early 1965, following the deaths of two muggle children, Fenir Greyback was brought in for questioning at the Ministry of Magic. As you know, Greyback was and still is a werewolf, but because the Werewolf Registry wasn't maintained very well, the Ministry was clueless of this fact."

"So the Ministry had no idea? That's terrible on their behalf" Tonks commented, her hand now rested upon Remus's which was still on her bump.

"I know," Remus agreed, "Greyback insisted that he was a muggle tramp and all the members of the questioning committee bought this story, apart from my father who recognised the characteristics of lycanthropy in Greyback's behaviour and appearance."

"Was the questioning committee really that gullible and stupid?" Tonks asked, shocked.

Remus nodded, "My father suggested that Greyback should be detained until the next full moon which was only twenty-four hours away, but the other committee members laughed at him saying he was being ridiculous. Unfortunately, my father lost his temper and he declared all werewolves to be 'soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death.'"

Tonks audibly gasped as she raised her hand to her mouth, "He actually said that?"

"Yes, but you've got to remember that he was angry, a fact that I ignored when I first found out."

Tonks just stared at him, nodding, trying to understand. "Greyback was extremely angry and set out to revenge my father for his insulting remark. Shortly before my fifth birthday, Greyback forced my bedroom window open and attacked me. My father reached me in time before Greyback could kill me, casting powerful curses at him, but I was left bitten and a fully-fledged werewolf," Remus's voice broke off. By this time Tonks was silently crying as she reached over to him, burying her face in his neck. She found the bite mark which Greyback had left, just above his shoulder and gently kissed it, showing Remus that him being a werewolf made him no less human. She pulled back and ran her hand through his hair as she looked into his face, "Thank you" she whispered, "For telling me, I know how hard it is for you to talk about it." "I trust you Dora and I love you" Remus replied as he leant in to softly kiss her lips. "So that's why your relationship with your father became strained?" "Yes, I used to blame him. I used to believe that if he had just kept his temper in check then none of it would have happened, but in recent years I've come to realise that he lost his temper because he just wanted to protect others out there from Greyback and his deadly bite." Tonks sighed sadly at the tragic story, then relaxed against Remus's body, "But you forgive him now?" Remus paused but only for a second, "Yes, I forgive him," and the scars of hate and resentment Remus felt for his father finally healed.